Joost update

So I eventually got a Joost token to try out the newest product from the folks that brought you Kazaa and Skype. It’s a great concept. It is basically a cross between a p2p network and a television.

So you want to watch a show, you just select what you want to watch and it plays.
In the background, it has found some other people that are watching (or have watched) the same show and starts downloading from them to speed up the transfer. What a great idea!

Except… well, there’s always an exception, isn’t there?

They need some real content. The most popular shows on the Joost network are Surfing Competitions, Bridezillas and Car Reviews. The video quality is great, and some of the content is okay, but certainly nothing to get excited about. After about 30 minutes of watching these 5-10 minute videos, I’d seen what I wanted to see (that is, the technology) and I was out of there. There was no content that could grab me.

And so, we return to the world where content is king, and good content will always win out. Even some of the crap on Youtube draws you in more than a 20 year old clip of surfers hitting a wave.

Now, it’s still in beta, so we’ll see if they can ink some real content deals. Put the real, prime-time stuff on the Joost network, and I’d gladly redirect the cash I send to the cable company to them, but not as it is!

By the way, I do have some Joost Invites available. Let me know in the comments if you’d like to give it a try!